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435 Annals Am. Acad. Pol. & Soc. Sci. vii (1978)

handle is hein.cow/anamacp0435 and id is 1 raw text is: PREFACE*

This is the third time that THE ANNALS has devoted a special issue to the
subject of social indicators. In May 1967, a two-volume edition appeared
under the title, Social Goals and Indicators for American Society. In
January 1971, a volume on Social Information for Developing Countries
was published. The title of the present volume, America in the Seventies:
Some Social Indicators, reflects a recognition of the fact that, though many
new statistical series have been developed, it is not possible to set forth a
single or even a small number of summary indicators of social welfare which
would meet with general acceptance.
Robert Parke and David Seidman's contribution to this issue describes
some of the efforts that have been devoted to the development of social
indicators since Raymond Bauer, in 1966, issued his volume under that title
and THE ANNALS devoted its May 1967 issue to an exploration of objectives
and of data availability and data needs.
There has been a growing recognition that statistical reports are not
normative indicators; that in fact they often are ambiguous. Ida Merriam
illustrates this when she writes: An increase in expenditures for' unem-
ployment insurance signals both a weakness in the economy that should
disturb us and a strength in the protection of individuals and families that
marks an effective social welfare system.
The report Social Indicators, 1973, issued by the Office of Management
and Budget clearly recognized this ambiguity and made no effort to draw
conclusions for policy from the numerous series which were presented. The
successor report, Social Indicators, 1976, observed the same limitation.
Nevertheless the data presented have a significance that goes well beyond
the description of trends and patterns which is given by the tables and charts
in that report. The present issue of THE ANNALS was planned to provide
insights into the significance of these patterns and trends. The authors were
invited to interpret the data, to give their own views of the significance of the
trends to American society, and to observe interrelations as well as im-
plications for policy and for the future. They were not limited to the
assumptions which underlay the choices of particular series presented in
Social Indicators, 1976. They were encouraged to criticize the choices that
had been made and to draw attention to other data, presented in the text of
the article, if it was their conclusion that such data would have provided
greater insights into significant developments.
The readers of these articles will want to refer to the recently issued Social
Indicators, 1976 for more detailed sets of data and for comments on the
* A grant from the National Science Foundation (SOC 76-80262) helped make publication of
this volume of THE ANNALS possible. The American Academy of Political and Social Sciences
is grateful for this support. However, any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations
expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the
Foundation.
vii

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